1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of aqueous based, surfactant containing, mild cleansers, providing good foaming, moisturizing and cleaning, without excessive harshness.
The use of moisturizers in traditional washing bars is severely limited by processing constraints. Usually bars with a high content of moisturizers are sticky and cannot be easily stamped. Some of the difficulties of formulating a good personal washing product with high levels of moisturizers were eliminated by using liquid products to avoid the stamping problem.
Moisturizers have also been found to inhibit lathering. However, lathering is desirable for washing products. Further, a high concentration of moisturizers while being desirable for mildness and skin benefit has a tendency to de-stabilize liquid products.
It was thus desirable to formulate an aqueous based product containing high levels of moisturizers in combination with high levels of mild surfactants to result in a substantially stable personal washing product which is exceptionally mild to the skin; and having excellent lathering characteristics which also leaves the skin feeling smooth, silky, and moisturized.
2. Description of The Art
Japanese Patent JP-A-63/243,200 discloses a detergent composition containing a combination of specified acyl isethionates, higher fatty acids and N-acylglutamic acid salts. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,556,510 and 4,617,148 both disclose liquid soaps containing polymeric thickeners along with several other surfactants including optionally sodium cocoyl isethionate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,079 discloses a therapeutic facial skin cleanser composed of selected surfactant mixtures and active ingredients.
There have been many different approaches to the problem of producing an aqueous based mild cleanser containing high levels of emollients/moisturizers together with combinations of mild surfactants having good viscosity, good stability, and high lathering characteristics. None of these approaches has been completely satisfactory. In many cases, stability is sacrificed to improve viscosity, or mildness is de-emphasized to improve cleaning ability or moisturizing is minimized to improve lathering.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an aqueous based cleansing and moisturizing product characterized by its mildness, good lathering properties acceptable viscosity and stability. This is accomplished while substantially eliminating many of the problems of the art. Other objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds.